Charges: War Vet Threatened Neighbors, Police

ROSEMOUNT, Minn. (WCCO) – A 32-year-old Rosemount man who is a war veteran is accused of threatening to kill his neighbors and police and then barricaded himself inside his home, according to charges filed Wednesday in Dakota County Court.

Timothy Richard Nelson was charged with one felony count of terroristic threats in connection with the incident.

According to the charges, Rosemount Police responded to a call at about 8:34 p.m. on Jan. 13 where a man, later identified as Nelson, said he was mad at anyone with a bleeding heartbeat and would start taking out his neighbors. Police have had contact with Nelson in the past for suicide threats.

Police made contact with him, and he made additional threats that he had weapons and was going to start shooting people. Nelson told police he had a sniper rifle with a 50-caliber on the water tower, an AR-15, a 12-gauge shotgun, an AK-47 with a grenade launcher and 2,000 rounds of ammunition, the complaint states.

Nelson also told police he would kill anyone without a badge and had booby-trapped his residence with explosives. Police arrived on scene and evacuated the area before starting negotiations. Nelson eventually surrendered to police. The complaint states no weapons were found in his residence and when interviewed by police, he gave no details about specific threats but gave details on how he was arrested and of his time in the military.

If convicted, Nelson faces up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.